Sci-Fi Club stays strong

Sci-Fi+Club+members+are+pictured+playing+a+game+of+%E2%80%9CMafia%E2%80%9D.+In+the+game%2C+two+people+are+secretly+assigned+as+mafia+members+that+go+around+%E2%80%9Ckilling%E2%80%9D+others.+Each+death+is+accompanied+by+a+sci-fi+related+description+depicted+the+%E2%80%9Cdeath%E2%80%9D+of+each+victim.

Krishna Gopal

Sci-Fi Club members are pictured playing a game of “Mafia”. In the game, two people are secretly assigned as mafia members that go around “killing” others. Each death is accompanied by a sci-fi related description depicted the “death” of each victim.

Relatively new to our school, Sci-Fi Club began just last year and has grown tremendously since then. Every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Friday of the month, these members meet up in Mrs. Wilson’s room for games and activities.

Serena Nicoll, one of the club’s presidents, said, “We try to have ‘themed’ meetings, where we focus on a particular aspect of science fiction each meeting. Generally that involves games, activities, or other interactive ‘stuff’ that will keep everybody out of their seats and moving around, especially during the first few meetings to get everyone acquainted.”IMG_3129

So far this year, some of the club’s activities included trivia, “sci-fi math” (a combination of arithmetic and trivia) and a Halloween costume contest. Nicoll and co-president Mandi Rian have already starting planning a list of activities for the rest of the school year. One idea is to create a sci-fi story by having each member write one sentence of the story and pass it on to the next person. Additionally, some potential activities include game nights, video game competitions, cosplay tutorials, movie nights, and sci-fi crafts. “We try and make it as varied across the sci-fi spectrum as possible to get more people interested and willing to participate,” Nicoll said.

In addition to the activities, members usually spend about half of the meetings watching episodes from sci-fi shows. Also, on months where there are five Fridays, Sci-Fi Club designates the fifth Friday as a “Book Club” Friday, where members discuss a book selected at the previous meeting.IMG_3096

Members of the club have a diverse interest in science fiction. While many seem to prefer Doctor Who and Marvel Comics, there are ardent fans of DC Comics, Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, Sherlock, Battlestar Galactica, and even several video gaming universes (Skyrim, Legend of Zelda, and etc.). Some books, such as Lord of the Rings, The Martian, and Forgotten Realms, also come up during the meetings.

Sci-Fi Club has several events coming up to look forward to. They are planning a holiday gift exchange, thinking about preparing a booth for the end-of-the-year carnival, and participating in Trivia Night again. In the future, they hope to organize a school-wide event centered around a sci-fi holiday.IMG_3104